Mapping Opportunities for Alignment

Mapping Opportunities for Alignment

The challenges that young people face are not ones that any one nonprofit, school, government agency or family can face alone and that ensuring young people’s academic, professional, and personal success demands that we serve them holistically and in a coordinated way from “cradle to career.” This Blueprint is designed to activate collective action to increase equity and access for youth to high quality CYD.

CYD Outcomes

Numerous independent research studies document and illuminate positive youth outcomes through participation in CYD, including social and emotional development, academic achievement, and positive relationships with peers and adults. To encapsulate the positive outcomes that occur for young people who participate in CYD programs, the Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project (BYAEP), a partnership of practitioners, program evaluators, and funders, developed the following theory of change:

If youth participate in high-quality arts programs, they will develop specific skills and competencies (I Create, I Am, We Connect), which, in turn, leads to a set of intermediate outcomes (able to engage and be productive, to navigate, and to make connections with others), which in turn leads to a set of long-term outcomes (resiliency, self-efficacy and personal fulfillment, and community engagement) that together constitute life success.

“The arts allow young people to engage in a way that meets them where they are…the arts allow kids to get in touch with their feelings, whatever rage might be inside, whatever socioeconomic factors they might face.”
—Alex Johnson, Managing Director, Californians for Safety & Justice; Board Member, Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network. Remarks made on February 7, 2018 at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA at a cross-sector forum on CYD organized by the CYD National Partnership.

CYD Alignment with Allied Youth Sectors

“The arts programs are the most popular programs among teens and young adults at our community centers funded by the City of Los Angeles. They are uniquely engaging…involvement in an arts program can open the door to the acceptance of other services by youth who have been disconnected, such as employment workshops or needed mental health services. All of this can change the fundamental trajectory of young people’s lives…the arts can be a doorway or an on-ramp.”
—Robert Sainz, Assistant General Manager at City of Los Angeles and head of the City’s Economic and Workforce Development Department. Remarks made on February 7, 2018 at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA at a cross-sector forum on CYD organized by the CYD National Partnership.

As allied youth fields such as juvenile justice, health and wellness, and workforce development increasingly take a youth development approach, leaders in these sectors and movements are building awareness and recognition of the ways in which CYD aligns with and supports mutual goals. CYD programs and organizations are forming cross-sector partnerships and alliances as strategies to connect with more young people, build engagement, and diversify and grow funding.

With this National Action Blueprint the field of CYD is poised to move forward into heightened recognition as a powerful solution for positive outcomes for young people and toward increased investment and opportunities for youth. The work of implementation of these strategic priorities is underway. Together, as young leaders and creatives, teaching artists and practitioners, funders, and policymakers, we will work to realize the vision of equitable access for all young people to creative youth development programs.